The Avatar
by Dreamer0012
Summary: SYOC CLOSED! Anya is the avatar and the only surviving airbender. With her entire home destroyed, she must go on a journey to master the elements and defeat the fire lord, but she's going to need some help. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_This is basically a story where Aang was never the avatar. Instead, a sixteen year old girl named Anya was the avatar. After finding out what she was, the air benders were attacked by the fire nation. The monks made sure she got away and she ended up being the only air bender to survive. Now she is traveling the world so she can master all the elements in time to defeat the fire lord. None of the original characters will be in this except the fire lord and Appa. Here's a short little prologue to get started._

**Prologue**

"Anya, you have to get out of here!" Monk Alah shouted over the roar of the fire. Anya shot a ball of air at the flames behind her master to keep them at bay.

"I won't leave you all behind!" The young air bender responded. The smoke was becoming thicker by the second and she had to pull the collar of her yellow shirt over her mouth and nose.

"You have to! You're the avatar, Anya, you have to survive this so one day you can defeat the fire lord."

"But-"

Alah shoved a backpack full of supplies at Anya, "Take this, find Appa, and leave!" With that, she fought her way through the smoke and away from Anya. That was followed by the sound of more fighting.

Anya made her way to where the sky bison were kept. Even that part of the temple was starting to catch fire. Most of the sky bison had flown away, but Appa was growling as he stomped out flames. "Appa!" Anya called. The bison looked up and flew over the fire to land in front of his friend. "We have to get out of here." Anya said, leaping onto the top of his head. She grabbed the reins attached to his horns and said, "Yip yip."

Appa took off into the sky and flew away from the air temple. Anya watched as her burning home disappeared in the distance. For the first time, she felt alone.

_So that was really short, but whatever it was just a preview. I need five characters to travel with Anya, one of each bender and one no bender. I will also need a few characters on the fire nation side to hunt Anya, and a love interest for her. The love interest can be boy or girl, it doesn't matter. I'm going to be picky about which characters I pick so be descriptive and creative. Only submit by PM and put your characters name in the subject. The character form is on my profile._


	2. Incomplete cast list & Ch1

_This cast list isn't complete so there are spots still open._

1. Neema Kyoni (SentientPixel)- non bender

2. Valkyrie Dzuro (LostValkyrie)- fire bender

3. Yuki Busujima Hyabusa (Ghost132)- fire bender

4. Deilay Iugh (LoveAnisoka)- water bender

_Just because your character isn't on here doesn't mean that I won't add them later. These are just the characters that I know for sure will be in the story. I still haven't decided about some of the already submitted characters. I'm still accepting characters too so please submit, I need an earth bender and some more Team Fire lord characters. Now, here's chapter 1._

Chapter 1

_With Deilay_

"What is that?" Deilay's instructor, Kila, asked, looking out the doorway of the medical igloo. The student pulled away from the practice dummy she had been working on and went to stand by the older woman. The rest of the class followed. Something fairly big was flying toward them, and fast. They barely had time to exit the igloo before it came crashing down in the snow of the North Pole. It was a sky bison from the air temple. The bison rolled onto its side and something small fell off its back. Deilay ran to the sky bison, along with the rest of her class, to see what was going on.

An unconscious girl was lying next to him. Her skin was almost as white as the snow and dark waves of hair fell all the way to her waist. She was wearing an orange shawl over a yellow shirt with brown pants; airbender clothes. _This is impossible_. Deilay thought. Just two days ago news had reached them of the extinction of all airbenders at the hands of the Fire Nation. Apparently, the avatar had also been killed.

"She needs medical attention." Kila said, scooping the girl into her arms. She turned to the girls gathered behind her, "Deilay, you come with me. The rest of you stay here and look after the bison." Deilay followed Kila back to the medical igloo were the strange girl was placed on one of the empty cots that lined the far wall.

"I don't think she is wounded." Deilay said, noticing there wasn't a trace of any scrape or bruise on the girl.

"It looks like she collapsed of exhaustion." Kila responded, examining the bags under the girl's eyes. "I'm sure the same goes for the sky bison. They just need to rest."

Deilay looked over at her instructor, "Do you think she is an airbender?"

Kila nodded, "She must be. At least, I hope so. That would mean at least one of them survived."

Five hours later the girl began to stir. Kila had gone to get the chief so Deilay was the only one around. She hovered over the cot as the girl eventually sat up. "Where am I?" She asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"The North Pole." Deilay answered. "You were passed out from exhaustion."

"Oh... What about Appa?"

"Is that your sky bison? He's fine, but he's still asleep."

The girl nodded, still looking tired. "What's your name?" Deilay asked.

"Anya."

"I'm Deilay. Are you an airbender?"

Anya nodded and suddenly her eyes widened. "The Air Temple!" She jumped off the cot. "The Air Temple is being attacked! You have to get your warriors to help!"

Deilay took a step back. "Anya, the attack on the Air Temple happened two days ago, it's over now."

"W-what about the other airbenders?"

"They were all wiped out."

Anya sunk to her knees, shaking her head. "No. That can't be true. I left just a few hours ago, didn't I..." Deilay grabbed Anya's shoulder, causing her to look up. Her usually gray eyes were a glowing bright white.

Deilay gasped and backed into the doorway of the igloo. Anya began to slowly float into the air, a small tornado beginning to form around her. The wind knocked Deilay out of the igloo and sent her sliding across the snow. Then the igloo broke apart at the roof sending several cracks down the sides. Anya rose through the hole it had made and the swirling wind around her picked up speed.

"Deilay, are you alright?" The Chief, an old man with wrinkled skin and white hair, asked as he ran to the girl.

"How is she doing that?" Deilay asked, completely ignoring his question.

The Chief turned his attention to Anya. Amazement flickered in his eyes. "She is in the avatar state."

"Avatar state?" Deilay asked, "You mean, she's the avatar?"

"Yes."

_A/N So that's chapter 1. I know it was short but I wanted to go ahead and start to keep people interested in the story. Like I said, I still need more characters and I might still add some of the one's that have already been submitted._


	3. Incomplete cast list & Ch2

_This cast list isn't complete so there are spots still open._

1. Neema Kyoni (SentientPixel)- nonbender

2. Valkyrie Dzuro (LostValkyrie)- firebender

3. Yuki Busujima Hyabusa (Ghost132)- firebender

4. Deilay Iugh (LoveAnisoka)- waterbender

5. Onyx (Queztionz)- firebender

6. Fire Princess Ryselie Kae (Julyette of Wonder)

_All I need is an earthbender for Team Avatar and I'll have all the characters. I would prefer for the earthbender to be a boy. Here's the next chapter. I promise the chapters will get longer as the story goes on. Right now I'm just trying to get all the characters and their roles introduced._

**Chapter 2**

**With Anya**

"Avatar, you need to calm down!" A voice shouted, though Anya could barely hear it. She could see the village below her and the swirling winds that surrounded her. She knew she should stop, but the anger she was feeling made it impossible. "I know you're upset about what happened to the airbenders," The same voice said. It sounded like an old man. "But what you're doing now isn't going to help anything!" Anya forced herself to take a calming breath. That man was right; going into a blind rage wasn't going to help, or make her feel better. She slowly sunk to the ground, landing in front Deilay, who was currently glaring at her, and the man that had been shouting.

The man smiled and held out his hand to Anya, "I am Calder, the chief of this village."

"I'm Anya." Anya responded, shaking Calder's hand.

"And the Avatar." Calder released the airbender's hand and gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry for what happened to your people. If I had known what the Fire Nation was planning I would have done something." Anya didn't say anything so he continued. "I would like to invite to stay here for as long as you like. While you are here I would like to find you a waterbending master."

Deilay turned to glare at Calder, pure anger in her bright blue yes. "Chief Calder, what about the rule that prohibits girls from having waterbending masters? We aren't supposed to use our abilities for anything but healing."

_What a stupid rule._ Anya thought. No nation had a rule like that, not even the Southern Water Tribe. Calder waved away the young waterbender's comment, "The avatar is the exception to this rule. To have her learn waterbending in our village would be an honor." Deilay gave Anya one last death glare before turning on her heels and stomping away.

Calder turned back to the avatar. "Will you accept my offer?"

"What about the Air Temple? I should go back and see if anyone survived."

The chief frowned, "I assure you that no one but you survived, but if you want to leave I can't stop you. Will you at least stay for the night and think it over?"

Anya nodded. It would be nice to stick around for a hot meal and good nights sleep. Plus, Appa probably still needed to rest. Anya allowed Calder to lead her to an igloo near the medical igloo where she would be staying for the night.

**With Yuki **

"Where are the soldiers?!" Yuki asked herself impatiently as she paced up and down the training room. Fire Lord Ozai had just given her the most important mission she'd ever received, and she wasn't about to let the soldiers assigned to help her screw it up. They were supposed to have been on their battle ship five minutes ago. Yuki stopped walking and took the time to tighten the tie that held her black hair back, and pull up the sleeves of her new Fire Nation uniform. They were a little long but she wasn't about to complain.

The door opened and a boy and a girl walked in. The boy had dark skin and shaggy black hair that reached to his jaw. He was tall but not as tall as Yuki. He gave the taller girl a crooked grin, "Hi, I'm Onyx. You must be Yuki."

Yuki rolled her blue eyes and pointed to the weapons lining the right wall, "Pick out any weapons you want to take with you." Onyx walked to the wall, carefully scanning the sharp swords and daggers. "And who are you?" Yuki asked the girl that was still by the door.

"Valkyrie Dzuro." The girl answered. "Most people call me Val." Val was pale with brown hair that was currently pulled in a bun and fringe bangs that looked almost reddish.

"Okay." Yuki said. "Are you going to get any weapons?"

"I already have some that were taken to the ship." Val answered.

Yuki nodded and noticed that Onyx had grabbed a few weapons and was now standing by the door. "Now that everyone is ready," Yuki started, "Let's go find the Avatar."

Yuki stood with Valkyrie and Onyx on the deck of the war ship as crew members loaded the last of the supplies. "Where do you think the avatar would have gone if she survived the battle?" Onyx asked, leaning over the railing of the deck to look at the water.

Yuki shrugged. She honestly had no idea, but she did think the avatar was still alive. What kind of avatar couldn't survive a small battle that was started by the airbenders to begin with? "Maybe she went to one of the other Air Temples?" Val suggested.

"Why would she do that?" Yuki asked. "There are no airbenders at the other Temples." The other Air Temples had started battles with the Fire Nation at the same time the Southern Air Temple did. Needless to say, the Fire Nation won all of them.

"Maybe she doesn't know that." Onyx said, moving away from the railing and standing by the girls.

"That could be true." Yuki said. "We'll set a course for the nearest Air Temple and start our search there."


	4. Complete cast list & Ch3

_This is the complete cast list. SYOC is now closed._

1. Neema Kyoni (SentientPixel)- nonbender

2. Valkyrie Dzuro (LostValkyrie)- firebender

3. Yuki Busujima Hyabusa (Ghost132)- firebender

4. Deilay Iugh (LoveAnisoka)- waterbender

5. Onyx (Queztionz)- firebender

6. Fire Princess Ryselie Kae (Julyette of Wonder)

7. Hiro Zhang (princessgothicfull)- earthbender

**Chapter 3**

**With Hiro**

Hiro ran a hand through his shaggy black hair as he searched his makeup kit for his face paint. He only had thirty minutes to finish helping everyone get ready for the show and there were still five dancers who needed their make up done. "Ranmao!" He called to his fox-tiger cub. The small creature trotted around the corner of the caravan, a jar of yellow face paint dangling from his jaws.

"If you don't bring me back every jar of face paint you will be sleeping outside tonight." The young earthbender threatened, though he didn't seem very serious. Ranmao must have taken it seriously because he ran back and forth from Hiro to the other side of the caravan, dropping jars of paint at his owner's feet. Hiro laughed at his pet and picked up the paint to finish putting on the dancers.

By the time the last dancer was ready, Hiro only had five minutes to get himself ready. He pulled on his dancing outfit and put on the little bit of paint that the backup dancers had to wear. Once he was ready he met his mom, Kimiko, at the back of the performing tent. "Are you ready?" She asked, fixing the sleeves of his shirt.

"Yes." He answered. Kimiko smiled and the two walked into the tent where the other dancers were waiting for them.

**With Neema**

The mysterious figure, who had most recently taken to the nickname 'The One-Armed Bandit', hid crouched behind a bush at the back of the villa. Dark black clothes and a dark bandana tied around the bottom half of her face made her invisible to anyone walking by. Her dark blonde hair was tied back and tucked into the collar of her shirt.

She pulled out her chained dagger and threw it at the balcony above her. It wrapped tightly around the railing and Neema used the chain to help her climb up the side of the wall. It was made harder since she only had one arm, but she had done this enough to make it look easy. She pulled herself soundlessly onto the balcony and checked the glass door, which was luckily unlocked. It led to the bedroom of the rich couple Neema was hoping to steal from.

They were sound asleep in their bed. The One-Armed Bandit had been scoping them out for weeks so she knew exactly where most of their money was kept, in a large chest sitting on their bedside table. Neema quickly grabbed it and silently scaled back down the side of the building, holding the just between her knees to keep it from falling. She would be long gone before that couple even realized she'd been there. Neema hit the ground, pulled back her dagger, and hurried away from the villa.

After walking the streets for almost an hour, Neema found a group of homeless people which consisted of an older couple, a small child, and a young boy in a wheel chair. They were huddled in an alley, trying to stay warm with two tattered blankets. Neema dropped the chest at their feet and was gone before any of them could react.

**With Ryselie**

Ryselie knelt in front of Fire Lord Ozai, who sat on his throne with an angry expression. "You failed to capture the Avatar, Ryselie." He growled, "And now I've had to send out three of my best soldiers to find him!"

Ryselie flinched at his harsh tone. "Please forgive me, Ozai. I would like you to give me another chance to capture him."

"Another chance?!" The flames on the candles near Ozai grew to at least three feet tall.

"Please, Ozai. I promise I will not fail you this time."

"How about this, you must capture the Avatar before the other soldiers do or I will tell everyone your secret and have you executed."

Ryselie wanted to shout that that wasn't fair, that the other soldiers outnumbered her and already had a head start. Instead of doing this, she simply nodded. "I want you to leave at once." Ozai ordered. The princess nodded again and exited the throne room.

Once back in the safety of her own room, she lifted up her kimono to look at her stomach. Her pregnancy wasn't showing yet but soon it would be impossible to hide, and Ozai would have yet another secret to hold over her head. She dropped her shirt and began packing for what was going to be the most important mission of her life.

**With Anya**

"Try it again." Chief Calder ordered calmly. Anya had decided to stay in the Northern Water Tribe, at least until she mastered waterbending, and Calder immediately began searching for a master for her. After two days of searching he decided he would be the best one for the job.

Anya took a deep breath and focused on the large bowl of water in front of her. She held her hand out to it and slowly moved it up and down. The water moved with her, forming into a small wave. It got about two feet tall before splashing back into the bowl.

"I guess that's why girls aren't supposed to learn waterbending!" A young boy shouted from the other side of the training arena. The boys who were with him started laughing. Deilay was with them, but she wasn't laughing. Instead, she was glaring at Anya. It hadn't taken long for Anya to figure out that the other girl didn't like her at all.

Calder turned on the group of boys. "All of you, get out of here. Now!" The boys scattered but Deilay stayed.

"I'm finally starting to understand how you couldn't stop the Fire Nation." She said.

Anya turned to face the other girl. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Deilay shrugged, "It's just, I was wondering how the Avatar wasn't able to stop a small group of Fire Nation soldiers from killing her family. Now I'm starting to think it's because you're a horrible Avatar."

"What?!" Anya began to advance on the other girl, but Calder quickly stepped between them.

"That's enough, Deilay." He warned. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

The girl nodded and reluctantly walked away. Anya went back to the bowl of water, more determined than ever to learn waterbending.

**With Valkyrie**

Valkyrie laid sprawled out on her bed, looking at an older picture of her parents that she kept under her pillow. She knew she wouldn't see them again until the avatar was captured and she had begun to doubt that that would ever happen. Granted, it had only been three days since the search started, but they had found zero clues as the where the avatar was.

They had just searched the Western Air Temple and hadn't found any trace of the avatar. Now they were headed to the Eastern Air Temple. Val doubted the avatar would return there so quickly, considering it was where her family had been attacked, but what did she know?

Valkyrie rolled over and slid the picture back under her pillow. She was almost asleep when someone began rapidly knocking on her door. She rolled out of bed and swung it open, revealing Yuki on the other side. "Come on." The other girl ordered. "Onyx wants us to meet him on the deck. He said it's important."

The two girls jogged down the hall until they reached the door that lead to the deck. They swung it open and saw Onyx in the middle of the deck with a messenger hawk on his arm. "Yuki, Val." He started. "We just got a letter from one of the Fire Nation spies in the Northern Water Tribe. I didn't want to read it without you."

The two girls walked across the deck so they were standing with him. Yuki pulled the letter out of the pouch on the messenger hawk and unrolled it. A smile snaked across her face as her eyes scanned the paper. "What does it say?" Onyx asked impatiently.

Yuki rolled the paper back up and stuck it in her pocket. "It would appear that the Northern Water Tribe is harboring the avatar. They've even found her a waterbending master."

Valkyrie could feel the hope rising in her. The Northern Water Tribe was only a few days away by boat, and they would have the element of surprise. "I'll tell the captain to change our course at once." Onyx said. He ordered the messenger hawk to fly away before running toward the captain's quarters. That night, Valkyrie went back to her room with new found hope that they would soon have the avatar.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**With Anya**

It took another three days of training for Anya to learn any waterbending moves. She had mastered the water whip and could create basic waves. She continued to train with Calder everyday and he seemed pleased with how she was advancing. Deilay had gotten into the habit of watching all of Anya's lessons for reasons the avatar couldn't understand. The young waterbender was watching one of those lessons now with the same scowl on her face. Anya ignored her as she practiced making waves in the small pond in front of her. Calder stood a few feet away, carefully watching the girl's work.

"Chief Calder!" A young boy called, running across the training arena toward them, "The military leaders need to speak with you." Calder looked shocked for a second but quickly changed his expression to a calm one.

"I'll be back soon, Anya." Calder said and quickly walked away with the boy.

"What do you think that was about?" Anya asked, pulling the pond water into a small wave.

Deilay shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest, "I have no idea." Anya turned her focus back to the pond and attempted to move the wave back and forth, making it bigger. It had grown a few extra feet when an ear splitting scream traveled across the arena. Anya jumped, causing the wave to splash back into the pond. She turned to Deilay, who looked just as shocked as the avatar felt.

The two girls made eye contact for a few long seconds and at the same time decided to sprint toward the water tribe. The ocean soon came into view and the first thing Anya noticed was a Fire Nation ship with soldiers spilling out of it. Three soldiers, two girls and a boy, were ahead of the others. It was obvious the other soldiers were following their lead. Deilay grabbed Anya, turning her around to face her. Her blue eyes were wide with terror. "I have to get to my family." She said.

Her voice might not have held any fear, but Anya new better. For the first time, she saw Deilay as more than someone who hated her. "I'll help you get to them." The avatar promised. Deilay nodded and the two began running toward a row of igloos that a few soldiers were heading toward. They were half way there when a soldier ran straight into Anya's side, sending her tumbling into the snow. She rolled onto her back to face her attacker, who was readying a ball of fire in his hand.

Before Anya could do anything a whip of water wrapped around his wrist and slung him to the ground. "Come on." Deilay ordered, pulling Anya to her feet and dragging her back into a run.

"Did you attack him?" Anya asked the waterbender. The other girl nodded. "But I thought girls couldn't learn to fight with waterbending?" A group of soldiers began advancing on them and Anya created a dome of air to keep them at bay.

"That didn't stop me." Deilay responded. Anya couldn't deny that she was impressed with the girl for learning waterbending on her own. They reached the line of igloos and the avatar allowed her dome of air to disappear. "I can take it from here." Deilay said. "Go help everyone else." Before Anya could argue, the other girl was gone. She turned away from the igloos and took in the scene around her; water tribe warriors stood bravely in front of their homes, their faces covered with paint, and Fire Nation soldiers attacked them from every side.

"Avatar!" A girl's voice shouted. Anya turned in the direction of it and came face to face with a girl a few years older than her. She was taller than the avatar by a few inches with lighter black hair. She was flanked by a lean boy with a crooked grin and a shorter girl with red bangs. "Let's make a deal," The taller girl started, walking toward Anya, "If you come with us we leave these people alone."

Anya was about to agree when shards of ice went flying at the three soldiers. The shorter girl skillfully created a wall of fire to block them and the ice melted on contact. "Don't do it, Anya!" It was Calder. He wasn't far away, fighting off Fire Nation soldiers, "The world needs you! Don't go with them!" The Chief ducked out of the way of a blast of fire then raised a wall of snow and sent it flying at a group of soldiers.

Anya turned back to the three soldiers, deciding to hold her ground and fight. The tall girl, who seemed to be the leader of the three, must have realized this because she created a whip of fire with each hand and swung the right one at the avatar. Anya did a back flip, barely avoiding the flames, and landed back on the snow in a crouched position. Before anyone else could react, she shifted her weight onto her hands and did a 360 spin, causing a gust of air to knock the soldiers onto the ground. The tall girl's fire whips disappeared as she repositioned her hands to cushion her fall.

The soldiers were still recovering from the blast when Calder grabbed Anya's shoulder and pulled her behind a mound of snow. "Anya, you have to get out of here." He said urgently.

"What?" She asked, confused, "I need to help you fight."

"We don't have enough warriors to fight them off and you aren't strong enough to do it on your own, at least not yet. There's no way we can win this."

Anya shook her head in disbelief, "Calder, we have to try."

"We can't risk them catching you!" Calder took a deep breath to calm himself. "If you leave on Appa now then you'll be safe, and maybe the Fire Nation will leave when they realize you aren't here anymore." Anya fought back the urge to argue with him. She couldn't deny that he was right about them not being able to win, and maybe her leaving would lure the Fire Nation away. Calder took her silence as her agreeing and said, "I'll hold them off while you get to Appa. Oh, and take this." He pulled a waterbending scroll out of his robe and handed it to Anya. She took it and slid it under her yellow tunic.

Calder jumped out from behind the snow and began fighting again. Anya took her chance and ran toward the barn where Appa was being kept, glancing over her shoulder just long enough to see the tall girl chasing after her. Calder was too preoccupied with the other two soldiers to notice. Anya ran in zigzags through the village, hoping to lose the girl soldier. Just when she thought she'd gotten away, a painful burning feeling started at the back of her left calf and traveled up to her thigh.

Anya let out a pain filled scream as she crumpled to the ground. The back of her left pant leg was almost completely burned off and the fabric that was still there was singed. The exposed skin was what worried her the most. It was a dark red color and painful blisters were already starting to appear. Anya attempted to stand, but as soon as she put weight on her burnt leg she fell right back down.

"Looks like you won't be running away anymore." The girl soldier stated, casually walking to the avatar. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she stared down the younger girl.

"Yuki!" The short girl from earlier called, catching up to the girl.

"Val, where's Onyx?" The tall girl, who must be Yuki, asked.

"He's keeping that waterbending Chief busy." Val answered.

Yuki nodded and looked back at Anya, "Help me grab her."

Just as the girls approached her, Anya took a deep breath and blew out a steady blast of air aimed directly at Yuki. It hit her in the chest and sent her back a few feet before she was able to twist away from it. Val continued to advance on the avatar, but was stopped in her tracks when the snow on the ground rose to her knees and froze solid. She attempted to burn it but more snow rose to wrap around her hands. Deilay came to stand beside Anya, her hands raised to attack again.

By then, Yuki was coming after them, her dull eyes blazing with anger. Anya raised her hand, palm facing forward, and flicked her wrist, causing a gust of wind to knock snow in Yuki's face. While the firebender wiped it away, Deilay turned the ground under her into solid ice. When Yuki took another step she slipped on the ice, falling onto her side. Once she was on the ground, Deilay turned it to water and the girl fell through. "I'm going to kill you!" Yuki growled, clawing at the snow as she tried to climb out. It proved to be too slippery though and she couldn't get a good grip.

Val was still trying to thaw her hands, so Deilay pulled Anya up, putting the avatar's arm around her shoulder to help her stand. "Thank you." Anya gasped as they walked away as fast as possible. Deilay just grunted in response, obviously having trouble as she tried to hold most of the avatar's weight.

The two girls made it away from the fighting and Deilay pulled Anya into an empty igloo. She laid her face down on a made bed and began inspecting the back of her leg. "What are you doing?" Anya asked, clenching her teeth in pain as the other girl prodded her wound.

"Shut up." Deilay ordered. "I need to focus if I'm going to heal you, and I can't do that if you're talking." Anya closed her mouth and watched as Deilay opened a pouch tied to her belt and coaxed the water out. She held it in front of both her hands and slowly placed it on Anya's burn. At first, it stung, but soon it felt like the cool water was sucking out all of the pain. Anya could almost feel the blisters shrinking.

When Deilay lifted the water, the wound was completely gone. She allowed the water to drop to the floor then helped Anya to her feet. "You're really good at that." The avatar said, surprised at how much better her leg felt.

Deilay ignored her. "What's the plan?"

"I need to get to Appa and get out of here." Anya answered.

Deilay's expression twisted into one of rage and confusion. "What?! You're going to abandon us?! Abandon my people?! You're a coward, avatar!"

Anya held back the need to flinch, "Calder told me to leave, Deilay. He thinks it's for the best and will draw the Fire Nation away."

"I don't care what Calder thinks!"

"Well, I do." Anya pushed past the other girl but stopped in the doorway. "If I notice that the Fire Nation doesn't leave to follow me then I will come back and help you fight them."

"I'm coming with you." Deilay said firmly.

Anya spun around, "What? Why?"

"I have to make sure you keep your promise about coming back," She answered, "Plus, who else is going to teach you waterbending?"

_A/N Sorry this is short! I was going to make it longer but if I did that it wouldn't have been up until the end of the weekend, and I really wanted to update since I haven't in forever! Also, I'm sorry if your character isn't in every chapter but it will be easy to fit them all in once all of Team Avatar meets up, which should be in the next few chapters. I'll try to update sooner than I have been. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please review! Also, this isn't that important, but would anyone be interested in drawing the characters? I thought if someone did I could make a tumblr page and post them. If you did draw them you would get credit, but if no one is interested in that then it's no big deal.  
_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**With Onyx**

"Yuki! Val!" Onyx shouted as he watched Anya fly off on her bison. He did his best to keep her in his sights as he maneuvered through the fighting. A waterbending warrior nearly sent a sword through his arm, but Onyx quickly dodged and set the warrior's shirt on fire to keep him distracted. He went back to looking for the girls and nearly ran into them as he made a sharp turn. Yuki was soaking wet and Val was trying to warm her hands, which were a light blue color.

"The avatar is gone." Onyx said, getting straight to the point. "I just saw her fly away with her bison."

"What?!" Yuki snarled. Valkyrie looked just as angry, but her eyes held more disappointment. Yuki stormed away from the two, wringing out the sleeves of her uniform. "Soldiers, back to the ship! We need to catch up to the avatar!"

Onyx and Val jogged after the older girl. "I can't believe she got away." Val mumbled, sounding like her life depended on finding the avatar. _For all I know, it could_. Onyx thought. He took in everything around him as they made their way to the ship. A lot of homes had been destroyed and a lot of people had been hurt, or even killed. He couldn't help but feel guilty about causing such damage.

Onyx was usually careful not to cause much damage when fighting, but he had been too distracted with looking for the avatar to even notice what he was doing. He looked back at Val and saw the girl was staring at him. "I know I look stunning, but now isn't the time to drool over me." The boy remarked, trying to distract from his feelings of guilt.

Val rolled her eyes and looked away, "You're obnoxious, you know that?" Onyx just shrugged in response. The two reached the ship just as the last of the soldiers did. It started moving as soon as they were on board.

**With Ryselie**

Ryselie gingerly walked around the small Earth Kingdom village, trying not to puke(morning sickness). She had been asking everyone she came across if they had seen anyone wearing air nomad clothing. They hadn't. Just as the princess was about to go back to her inn, she saw a one-armed girl looking at the merchant stands. She had the air of someone who would know everything that went on in their village.

"Excuse me?" Ryselie asked politely, speed walking to stand in front of the girl, who stood a few inches above her. She forced herself not to stare at the stump where the girl's left arm used to be.

"What do you need?" The one-armed girl asked.

"Have you seen anyone around here dressed like an air nomad?"

The girl shook her head in confusion, "No. Why?"

"She is an enemy of the Fire Nation." Ryselie said firmly. "She needs to be captured."

The girl's expression turned into a hostile one, "Let me guess, she some how offended the Fire Lord and now he wants her executed?"

The princess was shocked at the sudden change in the girl's mood. She wasn't about to let some peasant talk to her like that. "Do you really think it's wise to talk to the Fire Nation princess like that?"

The one-armed girl rolled her eyes. "You don't scare me. You have no power outside of the Fire Nation." The girl began to walk away but stopped to add, "Oh, and I hope you don't find who you're looking for."

**With Deilay**

Deilay sat at the back of Appa's saddle, staring at Anya's back as the other girl held the bison's reins. She was relieved that the Fire Nation ship had followed them, and even more relieved that they had gotten away from it. Now the two girls were stuck in an awkward silence. Deilay had no idea what to say to Anya. It wasn't like she had any interest in being friends with the girl. She only left with her to get away from the water tribe, but she did feel a responsibility to help her learn waterbending.

It looked like they were going to be stuck with each other for a while, so Deilay decided to make it less awkward and start a conversation. "Why don't you have any tattoos?"

Anya looked over her shoulder at the waterbender. "What do you mean?"

"I thought airbenders were supposed to get arrow tattoos when they mastered airbending, but you don't have any. Did you not master it?"

"No. I did." Anya turned her head back around. "They were going to give me my tattoos but to do that I would have to shave my hair off, and I've spent most of my life growing it out so that seemed like torture." Anya was quite for a second then added, "Plus, my airbending master was always jealous of my hair. I think it would have actually hurt her if I got rid of it."

Deilay couldn't see the girl's face, but she could tell by her slumped shoulders and the tone of her voice that she was upset. She suddenly realized that Anya's master must have died during the Fire Nation's attack.

"We should probably land soon." The waterbender said to change the subject. "We've been flying for hours."

Anya nodded and peered over the side of Appa's head. "I think we're at the edge of the Earth Kingdom. I'll take us down to one of the villages." She loosened Appa's reins and steered him toward the ground. They landed at the edge of one of the smaller villages, getting a few odd looks.

"I don't think there's an inn around here that can accommodate Appa." Deilay said.

"You're right." Anya agreed. "Plus, we need to save what little money we have for supplies."

"Why don't you take Appa somewhere and set up camp. I'll buy some supplies." Deilay suggested. Anya nodded and the other girl slid off the bison. Deilay watched as Anya led Appa into the woods. When she turned around she noticed a girl with one arm had been watching her too. She ignored it and made her way to the merchant stands.

Deilay found her way to her and Anya's campsite about an hour later. She had bought a backpack, two loaves of bread, a bag of dried fruit, and a bag of dried meat. "What did you buy?" Anya asked. She was lying on Appa's saddle, which she'd pulled onto the ground, with a blanket wrapped around her. Deilay sat the supplies next to her and the other girl looked through them.

They ended up eating half a loaf of bread, two strips of meat, and some fruit, then put the rest in the backpack for later. "I should teach you some waterbending moves tomorrow." Deilay said, crawling under the blanket.

"Oh, that reminds me." Anya rolled onto her back and pulled the scroll out of her tunic. "Calder gave me this waterbending scroll."

"That will come in handy tomorrow." Deilay grabbed the scroll and slid it into the backpack. She tried to think of the best way to teach Anya waterbending. Calder's technique had been working, but it had taken her a while to learn the most basic moves. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Anya curled into her side. "Anya?" Deilay asked, trying to push her away. The avatar didn't answer, so she must have been asleep.

Deilay successfully pried Anya off of her and tried to fall asleep herself.

**With Anya**

An unsettling feeling caused Anya to jerk awake a few hours later. She wasn't lying in Appa's saddle anymore, but was tied tightly to a tree with a gag in her mouth. Deilay was tied next to her. Neither one could move at all. Appa was a few yards away, still sleeping. _If only I could make some kind of sound to wake him up._ Anya thought. Someone came to stand in front of her.

It was a girl dressed in a kimono with strawberry blonde hair framing her face. Her eyes landed on Anya. "I think it's safe to say you're the avatar." The girl said. She turned her gaze to Deilay. "I have no idea who this girl is though, so I suppose I can get rid of her." The girl pulled out a dagger and held it to Deilay's throat. Anya pulled at the binds around her wrists, trying desperately to get free. She couldn't let this girl kill her friend.

Just as the blonde girl made a cut in Deilay's neck, someone with only one warm dropped down behind her and knocked her to the ground. The stranger pulled out a sword and cut Anya free. The avatar quickly untied her gag and began untying the ropes around Deilay. "Leave now, _princess_, and I won't gut you." The one-armed girl threatened the blonde girl.

The princess looked at the three girls, and obviously decided she couldn't take them because she ran off. "Thank you for your help." Anya said, helping Deilay to her feet.

"Your welcome." The one-armed girl responded. She turned on her heels and disappeared into the forest.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N Please read! LoveAnisoka has drawn the characters and put them on her deviantart page. I'll put the link in my bio after I post this chapter. **

**Chapter 6**

**With Neema**

The One-Armed Bandit stood near the market, leaning against the wall of a building. She was scoping out someone else to rob, but most of the people walking around looked as poor as her. A flash of yellow and orange caught Neema's attention. She turned to see what it was and saw the two girl's she had saved last night. _What if that princess sees her again?_ Neema knew she had to help her. "Hey, avatar!" She shouted.

The two girls turned around with wide eyes. The airbender quickly closed the space between them, "How did you know who I was?"

"Well, you're the only living airbender that anyone knows of, and the avatar is an airbender. I just connected the dots." Neema answered.

The waterbender looked at her friend, "I guess you're a little more obvious than we thought."

Neema slid her bag off her shoulder and pulled out a bundle of clothes. "Here. These are Earth Kingdom clothes. They should help you blend in."

"Thank you." The avatar said, scooping the clothes into her arms. "What's your name?"

"Neema."

"I'm Anya, and this is Deilay." The avatar said. She looked at Deilay then back to the one-armed girl. "Do you want to travel with us?"

Neema was shocked at the offer. "Why would you want me to?"

"Well, Deilay would be dead and I would a prisoner right now if it wasn't for you. It's pretty obvious that we could use your help."

The one-armed girl seemed hesitant so Deilay stepped forward and said, "Look, she's the avatar and the only one that can stop the war with the Fire Nation, but she's going to need help to do that."

_That's true_, Neema thought as she looked at the pale girl in front of her. All she's ever wanted to do was help people, and the avatar seemed like a pretty important person to help. "Ok, I'll go with you." She said.

Anya smiled and grabbed Neema's wrist, pulling her away from the market. "Come on, we'll take you to our camp."

When they got back to the camp Anya and Deilay changed into the Earth Kingdom clothes. Anya was now wearing brown pants and a green tunic with ties across the chest, and Deilay had on a green dress with a brown belt around the waist. "We should go." Deilay said. Anya nodded in agreement. The three girls put the saddle on Appa, gathered their supplies, and were off.

**With Anya**

"I'm so bored!" Anya groaned, flopping onto her back on the top of Appa's head. The bison made a sound of agreement. They had been flying for a good two hours.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Deilay asked, flipping through a book on waterbending that Neema had in her backpack. For the first hour Anya's boredom had been quenched by asking Neema all about herself, but now she knew everything the girl had been willing to tell her. She even found out that the girl had lost her arm to a butcher who wanted to teach her a lesson. As for her family life, Neema hadn't been willing to talk about it.

Anya rolled onto her stomach so she could look at the ground below them. A large tent accompanied by two wagons caught her eye. It was set at the edge of a town with a line of people already forming in front of it. Performers were coming out of one of the wagons and gathering at the back entrance of the tent. "It's a traveling caravan!" Anya exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She turned to the two girls behind her. "Can we stop?"

"Anya, I don't think we have to time for that." Deilay said, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Come on, Deilay." Neema coaxed. "I think we have an hour to spare."

"No we don't." The waterbender argued, dropping her book. "I still haven't had a chance to teach Anya any waterbending."

"Please?" Anya begged. "If we stop tonight then tomorrow we can practice waterbending all day."

Deilay rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"Yes!" Anya cheered. She had Appa land in the woods behind the tent and slid to the ground. Deilay and Neema climbed off after her. "Hurry up." Anya grabbed both the girls by their wrist and pulled them toward the tent. After paying a copper piece each the girls took a seat at the top of the wooden bleachers.

Deilay sat with her arms crossed, looking like she would rather be anywhere else. "Alah used to take me to these all the time." Anya said, practically bouncing with excitement. Deilay's face softened and she tried to look more excited.

"I think it's starting." Neema said, nodding to a group of dancers coming through the back entrance. The dancers did a variety of dance moves that reminded Anya of the different bending styles. She was impressed with how well they moved together and how in sync they were with each other.

When the dancers left, a man who looked about forty came out. He was followed by two armadillo lions, and two hog monkeys. The man stood in the middle of the ring and the animals made a circle around them. All four sat at attention, ready to do whatever their master asked. The man pulled out a bag of lychee nuts and tossed two in the air. The hog monkeys jumped up to catch them, doing a front flip before they landed back on the ground.

The trainer pointed to the two armadillo lions then to the sides of the ring. The lions began to run around the ring, one clockwise and one counter clockwise. While they were running, the man stomped on the ground and several pieces of earth- each about a foot long and four feet high- rose out of the ground. The armadillo lions continued running, jumping over the earth jumps when needed.

The hog monkeys began climbing up a pole that held up the center of the tent, then did flips off of it. They continued to do this over and over again and were rewarded with lychee nuts each time they hit the ground. After a few more minutes, the animals exited through the back of the tent, but the man stayed. A young kid with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes came in (Anya couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl).

The man and the kid- who looked so alike they must be related- began performing different types of earthbending moves. They were so amazing that Anya figured they had to be masters. When they finished earthbending, the rest of the performers came out and took turns bowing. Once the performers had left the audience followed.

Anya, Deilay, and Neema stayed seated for a while. "Are we going to camp out again tonight?" Anya asked.

"We have to." Deilay answered. "Unless you think Appa would be okay by himself while we stayed in an inn."

"We don't have enough money for an inn anyway." Neema said.

"You can stay with us." The girls looked up and saw the young earthbender, who was a boy judging by his voice. There was a fox tiger cub perched on his shoulder.

"That would be great." Anya said, standing up.

Deilay stood up too and grabbed Anya's shoulder, "Why so interested in helping us?"

The boy shrugged, "My family is used to taking in people who need it."

"I think we should stay with them." Neema said. "I doubt they mean any harm to us."

The boy smiled, "Follow me. Oh, I'm Hiro, by the way." The girls introduced themselves and followed Hiro out of the tent. He took them to the wagons where everyone was packing up. A few people were setting up tents to sleep in for the night. "Mom, Dad." Hiro called. The animal trainer and one of the dancers walked over to them.

"This is my mom, Kimiko, and dad, Fai." Hiro introduced them. "Mom, Dad, this is Anya, Deilay, and Neema. They need a place to stay for the night."

Kimiko smiled warmly at the girls, "Well, you can stay with us. Hiro, show them to one of our spare tents." Hiro nodded and led the three girls to an empty tent. Once they had set out blankets to sleep on Hiro left to help the other performers pack up.

**With Hiro**

It was five in the morning and everyone in the caravan was asleep, except for Hiro. He wasn't tired at all, so him and Ranmao were walking around, trying to think of something to do. He stumbled upon Anya's tent, and decided to poke around. It wasn't like he was going to steal anything, but he wanted to see what kind of stuff the girls had. He silently snuck into the tent, grabbed the two backpacks they had, and snuck back outside. "Let's see what they're carrying around." Hiro said to Ranmao.

He dug around in the backpack and pulled out a waterbending scroll and Air Nomad clothes. "Why would they have airbending clothes?" Hiro asked himself. Ranmao looked at him with a blank expression. Something stirred in the girls tent and Hiro hid behind a bush, bringing the backpacks with him. There was a small hole in the side of the tent and Hiro was close enough to look through it.

Anya was sitting up, her face buried in her hands. Neema sat up too, her eyes landing on Anya. "What are you doing up?" The one-armed girl asked.

Anya lifted her head up, "What if I'm not good enough?"

"What are you talking about?" Neema asked.

"What if I'm not good enough to defeat the Fire Lord?"

Neema moved so she was sitting next to Anya, "Why would you think you weren't?"

Anya shrugged, "Well, I suck at waterbending and even if I do master it, how am I supposed to find people to teach me the other elements?"

"We'll figure it out." Neema assured her. Hiro grabbed the backpacks and burst into the girls tent.

"Oh my gosh, you're the avatar, aren't you?!" He exclaimed.

"What? Of course not!" Anya said, but Hiro could see right through it. He turned and ran out of the tent, yelling for his parents. Anya, Neema, and Deilay (who was woken up by the shouting) ran after him. "Hiro, wait!" Anya yelled.

"What is going on?" Kimiko asked, stepping out of her tent, followed by Fai.

"Anya is the avatar!" Hiro said, excitement evident in his voice.

The three girls reached them and Kimiko and Fai bowed to Anya. "Avatar, it is an honor to meet you." Fai said as him and his wife stood up straight.

"Wow, that's a refreshing reaction." Deilay said.

"What are you doing in the Earth Kingdom?" Kimiko asked.

"I was learning waterbending in the North Pole, but the Fire Nation attacked and ran me out." Anya answered.

"We're going to travel while I finish her training." Deilay said.

"That's so exciting!" Hiro said, then gave the girls an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I told my parents who you were, but I knew how excited they would be. We thought the avatar was dead."

"Everyone did." Anya said, so quiet that it was almost inaudible.

"There's something I want you to have." Kimiko said and disappeared into her tent. She came back with an antique flying staff. "I got this from the Southern Air Temple when I was your age. I'm sure you could use it more than me."

"Thank you." Anya said, taking the staff and carefully looking over it.

"We should probably leave soon." Neema said, looking up at the sky that was turning pink from the rising sun.

"Let us give you supplies for the road before you leave." Fai insisted.

"Mom, Dad, please?" Hiro begged.

"Hiro, you don't even know if they'll let you go with them." Fai said.

"It doesn't hurt to ask." Hiro argued.

Kimiko grabbed her husband's arm, "He's got a point, Fai."

"Do you really want our son to leave with us having pretty much no way of contacting him?" Fai asked angrily.

"Of course not." Kimiko said, "But he's growing up. He's old enough to make decisions like this on his own."

Fai sighed and turned back to Hiro, "I have a feeling I'm going to lose this argument no matter what I say. Just promise that you will be careful and write to us whenever you can."

"I promise." Hiro said. He hugged both his parents at once. "I have to go so I can catch her before she leaves." Hiro pulled away, grabbed his backpack, and ran out of the tent. Ranmao was right at his heels. When he reached Anya he saw her, Neema, and Deilay were loading their supplies onto Appa.

"Anya, I have a proposition for you." Hiro announced, walking toward them. Anya finished tying a bag to Appa's saddle and slid to the ground.

"And what would that be?" She asked.

"I will travel with you and help you out in anyway I can. I've traveled through the entire Earth Kingdom so I know most of these roads like the back of my hand. Don't you think that will come in handy?"

"What do your parents have to say about this?" The avatar asked.

"They agree that helping the avatar is more important than performing in our show." The earthbender answered.

Anya looked at Neema and Deilay, who were perched on Appa's saddle. "What do you guys think?" She asked.

Neema shrugged, "The more the merrier."

"Honestly, you're going to let him come even if I disagree so let's just cut out the middle man and get out of here." Deilay said.

Anya turned back to Hiro. "Looks like you're in. Let's go."

Anya helped Hiro and Ranmao onto the saddle then climbed onto the top of Appa's head. "I can even teach you earthbending." Hiro offered.

"She has to learn waterbending first." Deilay said, "Of course, we have to start training for her to learn anything."

"I told you we'll start training later." Anya said. "Let's just get out of here first."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N Please read! LoveAnisoka has drawn the characters and put them on her deviantart page. Don't forget to check them out. The link is in my bio. Also, sorry that I haven't updated in a while but I have a summer project to do for English so I've been busy with that. Hopefully I'll get to update more frequently.**

**Chapter 7**

**With Anya**

Anya and Deilay had stripped to their undergarments and were standing waist deep in a near by lake, pushing a stream of water back and forth. Neema was sitting next to the water, looking over their maps, and Hiro and Ranmao were climbing all over Appa.

"Are we going to do this all day?" Anya asked, pushing the water from her to her friend.

"Maybe." Deilay answered with a shrug.

"But how does this help me learn waterbending?"

"It teaches focus. Plus, look at how long you've been bending the water."

Hiro slid off of Appa and came to sit next to Neema. "You should teach her that move with all the water tentacles."

Deilay groaned, dragging a hand down her face. The stream of water fell into the lake. "No! She isn't ready for that move."

"Can you do that move?" Anya asked.

"Yes."

"Will you show me?"

The waterbender sighed. "Fine." She held her hands out, palms toward the water, and slowly moved them up and down. Eight small tentacles began rising out of the water, growing bigger and bigger until they towered over Deilay.

"Woah." Anya said, her eyes wide with amazement. "How did you manage to learn all of this without having a master?"

Deilay let the tentacles fall back in the water, "I listened in on a lot of classes and borrowed every waterbending scroll in the North Pole."

"That's really impressive."

"Yeah. Now let's get back to training." Deilay coaxed another stream of water into the air. Before she could pass it to Anya, Hiro jumped into the water and tackled the airbender. Ranmao jumped in after them, swimming to the two as they emerged.

"I'm going to get you for that!" Anya threatened through fits of laughter.

"Anya, come on! We have to keep training!" Deilay shouted, but it was no use. Anya pushed Hiro under the water, both of them still laughing.

The waterbender groaned and slumped down next to Neema. "How is that girl supposed to save the world when she can't even focus enough to learn waterbending?" She grumbled.

"She'll learn waterbending soon enough." Neema said, rolling the maps up.

"When? When she decides to grow up and get serious? Who knows how long that will take."

"You should have more faith in her. She is the avatar after all. She'll get serious when she thinks she needs to."

Deilay pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. "I hope you're right."

**With Valkyrie**

Val sat on the deck of the ship, letting her legs dangle off the side. It was dark, but the full moon gave her enough light to see everything around her. Yuki walked up behind her, the sound of her foot steps made her presence known before she reached her.

"What are you doing out here?" Yuki asked.

Val shrugged, "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"My parents."

Yuki sat next to the younger girl, "You don't talk about them much."

"Yeah. It's a pretty sensitive topic."

"Well, you can tell me."

Onyx suddenly walked up and sat on the other side of Val. "Are you two having a heart to heart without me?"

"Not anymore." Yuki said. She looked back at Val. "You were talking about your parents?"

"Yeah. Let's just say their lives literally depend on us capturing the avatar." Val said.

Onyx's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Val nodded. "Yeah. Some Fire Nation general threatened to kill them if I didn't join the search for the avatar. Now he's going to kill them if we don't find her."

"Does the Fire Lord now about this?" Yuki asked. "Because there is now way he would let one of his generals do something like that."

The younger girl shrugged. "I don't know if he knows."

Yuki stood up. "I'll send him a letter right now. I'm sure when he knows what's going on he'll stop it." With that she was gone.

"I wouldn't hold your breath about the Fire Lord helping." Onyx said.

"I wasn't planning on it."

**With Deilay**

The Team Avatar camp had just gotten up and were getting ready for the day. Anya and Neema were cooking breakfast, well the one-armed girl was cooking and Anya was handing her ingredients, while Hiro and Deilay washed clothes.

Deilay grabbed a bundle of wet clothes and hung them from a tree branch to dry. "Anya, we need to start training again after breakfast." She said.

"I don't want to train today." Anya said, not looking at the other girl.

Deilay stomped angrily to the airbender. "What do you mean you don't want to train today?! How are you supposed to learn waterbending if you don't train?!"

Anya stood up from where she had been crouched by the fire. "Maybe I just won't learn it then!"

"What?! Seriously, Anya, could you be a more horrible avatar if you tried?!"

"Deilay!" Neema snapped. Anya grabbed her glider off the ground and flew away on it. "Good job, Deilay." The one-armed girl spat sarcastically.

"I'll go find her." Hiro offered, walking toward Appa.

Neema stood up and grabbed his arm. "No. Deilay needs to fix this."

Deilay sighed and climbed onto Appa. "Fine. I'll go get her." She gathered Appa's reins and said, "Yip yip." Appa took off into the air.

* * *

It only took a few minutes before Deilay saw Anya sitting near the lake. She landed the bison beside the girl and slid to the ground. "Go away." Anya demanded. Deilay continued walking toward her. Anya swung her arm in the waterbender's direction, causing a blast of air to knock her onto her back.

"Okay. I guess I deserved that." Deilay said, pulling herself back to her feet.

"You _guess_?" Anya asked, standing up.

The other girl held up her hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay. I _know_ I deserved that." She closed the space between her and the airbender. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said back there."

"I don't want your apology." Anya turned away from the girl.

"Fine. Will you at least tell me why you don't want to learn waterbending anymore? Is it too hard or something because I can change my teaching method or-"

"I don't want to learn because I don't want to be a waterbender!" Anya interrupted. "I don't want to be a waterbender or earthbender or firebender. I don't want to be the avatar. I just want to be an airbender."

"I'm sorry, but you can never be just an airbender." Deilay said. "You're always going to be the avatar. Not learning waterbending won't change that."

"But when I master waterbending it makes everything... _official_. I don't want to be the avatar, Deilay! Being the avatar has gotten everyone I care about killed."

Deilay gently turned the other girl around to face her. Tears were streaming down her pale cheeks. "I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better." The waterbender said.

"It would probably be easier for you to think of something if you didn't hate me."

"I don't hate you. I mean, I did when I first met you but I don't anymore."

"You just don't like me very much."

"Yeah..." Deilay sighed and wiped away Anya's tears with the pads of her thumbs. "I'll try to work on that, but Anya, you can't just ignore the fact that you're the avatar. So many people are depending on you to defeat the Fire Lord."

"But what if I can't."

"You can. I'm going to help you and so are Neema and Hiro. When the time comes for you to face the Fire Lord you _will_ be able to beat him, okay?"

"Okay."

Deilay smiled and lowered herself into the lake. "Come on. I'll teach you how to make the water tentacles." Anya wiped away her remaining tears and followed the other girl into the water.


End file.
